FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas -- In a season that hasn't lived up to the expectation of Razorbacks fans so far, one bright spot has emerged, a talent who offers plenty of hope for the future in Arkansas's new power rushing attack.

The next name in an impressive recent history of Arkansas backs has been found, even if he had to go through an unlikely scenario to end up in Fayetteville.

After a bizarre Signing-Day saga that involved his mother absconding with his national letter of intent and a promise to stick with his pledge to the Razorbacks that he made good the next day, Arkansas's freshman running back has been a sensation in his first season, following in the footsteps of Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Knile Davis, among others.

Strengths: An every-down back right away after arriving on campus, Collins has a compact body that can take a pounding. At 206 pounds, Collins runs tough, with an ability to break tackles and good vision in traffic at the line of scrimmage. From the start, Collins has run hard, earning lead-back status in a time-share with another good back in Jonathan Williams. In addition, Collins can catch the ball out of the backfield, offering a checkdown option for Razorbacks quarterback Brandon Allen.

Weaknesses: After rushing for 100 yards in three straight games to open the season, Collins has fallen off the pace, hampered by an offensive line that starts two freshmen and has largely been overwhelmed in SEC play so far. With less room to run -- and something less than the 225 or 230-pound size needed to blow open his own hole -- Collins' production has fallen off somewhat, even though he still ranks third in the SEC in rushing. For all his strengths, too, Collins isn't a prototypical burner, meaning he's got to find a different way to break the home-run type of play.